About Jeremiah

Jeremiah warned Judah of coming judgment for 40 years, yet proclaimed the hope of a new covenant.

Author: JeremiahWritten: c. 627-580 BCReading time: ~2 minVerses: 17
JudgmentNew CovenantRepentanceSufferingFaithfulnessHope

King James Version

Jeremiah 28

17 verses with commentary

The False Prophet Hananiah

And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year, and in the fifth month, that Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet, which was of Gibeon, spake unto me in the house of the LORD, in the presence of the priests and of all the people, saying,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And it came to pass the same year, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the fourth year</strong>—Zedekiah reigned 597-586 BC, making this 594/593 BC, just three years after the first Babylonian deportation. <strong>Hananiah the son of Azur the prophet</strong>—the term <em>navi</em> (נָבִיא, prophet) is used, showing Hananiah claimed legitimate prophetic office. His ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

XXVIII. (1) **And it came to pass the same year . . .—**The chapter stands in immediate sequence with that which precedes and confirms the conclusion that the name Jehoiakim in Jeremiah 27:1 is simply a transcriber’s mistake. Of the Hananiah who appears as the most prominent of the prophet’s adversaries, we know nothing beyond what is here recorded. He was clearly one of the leaders of the party o...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. (Is 45:8, 55:10, 11; Psa 72:3; 85:11). **bud--**the tender shoots. **praise--**(Is 60:18; 62:7).

Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, saying, I have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon</strong>—Hananiah uses the proper prophetic formula (<em>koh amar YHWH tseva'ot</em>, כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת) and God's covenant title 'God of Israel,' lending his false message maximum authority. The claim 'I have broken' uses the Hebrew perfect tense, presenting future hope as ac...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(2) **I have broken the yoke . . .**—The word is obviously used with special reference to the symbol which Jeremiah had made so conspicuous (Jeremiah 27:2). With something, it may be, of ironical repetition, he reproduces the very formula with which the true prophet had begun his message. He, too, can speak in the name of “the Lord of Sabaoth, the God of Israel.”

Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place, and carried them to Babylon: two: Heb. two years of days

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Within two full years will I bring again into this place all the vessels of the LORD'S house</strong>—Hananiah makes his prophecy testable by providing a specific timeline: <em>od shnatayim yamim</em> (עוֹד שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים), literally 'yet two years of days,' meaning within two full years. The <strong>vessels of the LORD'S house</strong> were the sacred temple implements Nebuchadnezzar c...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(3) **Within two full years.**—Literally, *two years of days. *Hananiah, not deterred by the previous warnings of Jeremiah, becomes bolder in the definiteness of his prediction. The conspiracy of Judah and the neighbouring states against Nebuchadnezzar was clearly ripening, and he looked on its success as certain. Prediction stood against prediction, and, as there were no signs or wonders wrought,...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 62 Is 62:1-12. Intercessory Prayers for Zion's Restoration, Accompanying God's Promises of It, as the Appointed Means of Accomplishing It. **1. I--**the prophet, as representative of all the praying people of God who love and intercede for Zion (compare Is 62:6, 7; Psa 102:13-17), or else Messiah (compare Is 62:6). So Messiah is represented as unfainting in His efforts for His people (Is ...
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And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon. captives: Heb. captivity

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, with all the captives of Judah, that went into Babylon, saith the LORD: for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.</strong> This verse records the false prophecy of Hananiah, who contradicted Jeremiah's message from God. The name Jeconiah (also called Jehoiachin or Coniah) was Judah's king deported to ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(4) **And I will bring again to this place Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim . . .**—We get here **a **new glimpse into the nature of the anti-Chaldæan confederacy. Zedekiah was to be deposed as too submissive to Nebuchadnezzar, and the young Jeconiah was to be brought back from his prison at Babylon, and re-established in the kingdom as the representative of the policy of resistance, resting on the s...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. (Is 11:10; 42:1-6; 49:7, 22, 23; 60:3, 5, 16). **new name--**expression of thy new and improved condition (Is 62:4), the more valuable and lasting as being conferred by Jehovah Himself (Is 62:12; Is 65:15; Re 2:17; 3:12).

Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of the LORD</strong>—the setting is explicitly public: the temple (בֵּית יְהוָה, <em>beit YHWH</em>), with priests (כֹּהֲנִים, <em>kohanim</em>) and people (עָם, <em>am</em>) as witnesses. This is prophetic confrontation as public drama, for...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

3. (Zec 9:16) **in ... hand of ... Lord--**As a crown is worn on the head, not "in the hand," hand must here be figurative for "under the Lord's protection" (compare De 33:3). "All His saints are in thy hand." His people are in His hand at the same time that they are "a crown of glory" to Him (Re 6:2; 19:12); reciprocally, He is "a crown of glory and a diadem of beauty" to them (Is 28:5; compare...
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Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of the LORD'S house, and all that is carried away captive, from Babylon into this place.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: the LORD do so: the LORD perform thy words which thou hast prophesied</strong> (אָמֵן כֵּן יַעֲשֶׂה יְהוָה יָקֵם יְהוָה אֶת־דְּבָרֶיךָ, <em>amen ken ya'aseh YHWH yaqem YHWH et-d'vareka</em>)—Jeremiah's response begins with 'Amen' (אָמֵן, 'so be it/truly'). This isn't sarcasm but genuine desire: Jeremiah would love for Hananiah to be right! The prophet ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(6) **Amen, the Lord do so.**—It is impossible to mistake the tone of keen, incisive irony with which the words were spoken. The speaker could, without falsehood, echo the wish as far as it was a wish, but he knew that it was a wish for the impossible. The whole condition of things would have to be altered before there could be the slightest prospect of its fulfilment. It was not wise to pray for ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**4. be termed--**be "forsaken," so as that that term could be applicable to thee. **Hephzi-bah--**(2Ki 21:1), the name of Hezekiah's wife, a type of Jerusalem, as Hezekiah was of Messiah (Is 32:1): "my delight is in her." **Beulah--**"Thou art married." See the same contrast of Zion's past and future state under the same figure (Is 54:4-6; Re 21:2, 4). **land ... married--**to Jehovah as it...
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Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people;

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Nevertheless hear thou now this word that I speak in thine ears, and in the ears of all the people</strong> (אַךְ־שְׁמַע־נָא הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי דֹבֵר בְּאָזְנֶיךָ וּבְאָזְנֵי כָּל־הָעָם, <em>akh-sh'ma-na haddavar hazzeh asher anokhi dover v'oznekha uv'oznei khol-ha'am</em>)—the introductory אַךְ (<em>akh</em>, 'nevertheless/however') signals contrasting reality. The imperative ...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**5. thy sons--**rather, changing the points, which are of no authority in Hebrew, "thy builder" or "restorer," that is, God; for in the parallel clause, and in Is 62:4, God is implied as being "married" to her; whereas her "sons" could hardly be said to marry their mother; and in Is 49:18, they are said to be her bridal ornaments, not her husband. The plural form, builders, is used of God in reve...
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The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The prophets that have been before me and before thee of old prophesied both against many countries, and against great kingdoms, of war, and of evil, and of pestilence</strong> (הַנְּבִיאִים אֲשֶׁר הָיוּ לְפָנַי וּלְפָנֶיךָ מִן־הָעוֹלָם וַיִּנָּבְאוּ...מִלְחָמָה וּלְרָעָה וּלְדָבֶר, <em>han'vi'im asher hayu l'fanai ul'fanekha min-ha'olam vayinnav'u...milchamah ul'ra'ah ul'daver</em>)—Jerem...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **The prophets that have been before me and before thee . . .**—The appeal to the past is of the nature of an inductive argument. The older prophets whose names were held in honour had not spoken smooth things. They had not prophesied of peace; war, pestilence, and famine had been the burden of their predictions. And there was, therefore, an antecedent probability in favour of one who spoke in...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**6. I--**Isaiah speaking in the person of the Messiah. **watchmen upon ... walls--**image from the watches set upon a city's wall to look out for the approach of a messenger with good tidings (Is 52:7, 8); the good tidings of the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon, prefiguring the return from the present dispersion (compare Is 21:6-11; 56:10; Eze 3:17; 33:7). The watches in the East are a...
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The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>The prophet which prophesieth of peace, when the word of the prophet shall come to pass, then shall the prophet be known, that the LORD hath truly sent him</strong> (הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר יִנָּבֵא לְשָׁלוֹם בְּבֹא דְּבַר הַנָּבִיא יִוָּדַע הַנָּבִיא אֲשֶׁר־שְׁלָחוֹ יְהוָה בֶּאֱמֶת, <em>hannavi asher yinnave l'shalom b'vo d'var hannavi yivvada hannavi asher-sh'lacho YHWH be'emet</em>)—the test f...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(9) **The prophet which prophesieth of peace.—“**Peace,” with its Hebrew associations, includes all forms of national prosperity, and is therefore contrasted with famine and pestilence, not less than with war. The obvious reference to the test of a prophet’s work, as described in Deuteronomy 18:22, shows, as other like references, the impression which that book had made on the prophet’s mind.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**7. no rest--**Hebrew, "silence"; keep not silence yourselves, nor let Him rest in silence. Compare as to Messiah Himself, "I will not hold ... peace ... not rest" (Is 62:1); Messiah's watchmen (Is 62:6, 7) imitate Him (Is 62:1) in intercessory "prayer without ceasing" for Jerusalem (Psa 122:6; 51:18); also for the spiritual Jerusalem, the Church (Lu 18:1, 7; Ro 1:9). **a praise--**(See on Is 6...
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Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke from off the prophet Jeremiah's neck, and brake it</strong> (וַיִּקַּח חֲנַנְיָה הַנָּבִיא אֶת־הַמּוֹטָה מֵעַל צַוַּאר יִרְמְיָה הַנָּבִיא וַיִּשְׁבְּרֵהוּ, <em>vayyiqach chananyah hannavi et-hammotah me'al tsavvar yirm'yah hannavi vayyishb'rehu</em>)—Hananiah performs symbolic counter-prophecy. Jeremiah had worn a wooden yoke symbolizing submission ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(10, 11) **Then Hananiah the prophet took the yoke . . .**—We are reminded of the conduct of Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, in 1Kings 22:24. Personal violence, as has been the case in some Christian controversies, takes the place of further debate. The hateful symbols of servitude should not be allowed to outrage the feelings of the people any longer. His success in breaking that was to be the pl...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**8. sworn by ... right hand--**His mighty instrument of accomplishing His will (compare Is 45:23; He 6:13). **sons of ... stranger--**Foreigners shall no more rob thee of the fruit of thy labors (compare Is 65:21, 22).

And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years. And the prophet Jeremiah went his way.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>And Hananiah spake in the presence of all the people, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Even so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of all nations within the space of two full years</strong> (כֹּה אָמַר יְהוָה כָּכָה אֶשְׁבֹּר אֶת־עֹל נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל בְּעוֹד שְׁנָתַיִם יָמִים מֵעַל צַוַּאר כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם, <em>koh amar YHWH kakah eshbor et-ol n'vuk...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**9. eat ... and praise--**not consume it on their own lusts, and without thanksgiving. **drink it in ... courts--**They who have gathered the vintage shall drink it at the feasts held in the courts surrounding the temple (De 12:17, 18; 14:23, &amp;c.).

Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah, saying,

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the prophet, after that Hananiah the prophet had broken the yoke from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah</strong> (וַיְהִי דְבַר־יְהוָה אֶל־יִרְמְיָהוּ אַחֲרֵי שְׁבֹר חֲנַנְיָה הַנָּבִיא אֶת־הַמּוֹטָה מֵעַל צַוַּאר יִרְמְיָהוּ הַנָּבִיא, <em>vay'hi d'var-YHWH el-yirm'yahu acharei sh'vor chananyah hannavi et-hammotah me'al tsavvar yirm'yahu han...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(12) **Then the word of the Lord . . .**—The narrative suggests the thought of a time of silent suffering and of prayer, to which the “word of the Lord” came as an answer. And that word declared, keeping to the same symbolism as before, that all attempts at resistance to the power which was for the time the scourge, and therefore the servant, of Jehovah, would only end in **a **more bitter and agg...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

10. What Isaiah in the person of Messiah had engaged in (Is 62:1) unrestingly to seek, and what the watchmen were unrestingly to pray for (Is 62:7), and what Jehovah solemnly promised (Is 62:8, 9), is now to be fulfilled; the Gentile nations are commanded to "go through the gates" (either of their own cities [Rosenmuller] or of Jerusalem [Maurer]), in order to remove all obstacles out of "the way ...
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Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Go and tell Hananiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast broken the yokes of wood; but thou shalt make for them yokes of iron</strong> (הָלוֹךְ וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל־חֲנַנְיָה...מֹטוֹת עֵץ שָׁבָרְתָּ וְעָשִׂיתָ תַחְתֵּיהֶן מֹטוֹת בַּרְזֶל, <em>halokh v'amarta el-chananyah...motot ets shavarta v'asita tachteihen motot barzel</em>)—the ironic reversal is devastating. Hananiah's dramatic breaki...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**11. salvation--**embodied in the Saviour (see Zec 9:9). **his work--**rather, recompense (Is 40:10).

For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also</strong> (כִּי־כֹה אָמַר יְהוָה צְבָאוֹת...עֹל בַּרְזֶל נָתַתִּי עַל־צַוַּאר כָּל־הַגּוֹיִם הָאֵלֶּה לַעֲבֹד אֶת־נְבֻכַדְנֶאצַּר מֶלֶךְ־בָּבֶל וַעֲבָ...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(14) **I have given him the beasts of the field also.**—On the significance of this addition see Note on Jeremiah 27:6.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

**12. Sought out--**Sought after and highly prized by Jehovah; answering to "not forsaken" in the parallel clause; no longer abandoned, but loved; image from a wife (Is 62:4; Jr 30:14).

Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Then said the prophet Jeremiah unto Hananiah the prophet, Hear now, Hananiah; The LORD hath not sent thee; but thou makest this people to trust in a lie</strong> (שְׁמַע־נָא חֲנַנְיָה לֹא־שְׁלָחֲךָ יְהוָה וְאַתָּה הִבְטַחְתָּ אֶת־הָעָם הַזֶּה עַל־שָׁקֶר, <em>sh'ma-na chananyah lo-sh'lachakha YHWH v'attah hivtachta et-ha'am hazzeh al-shaqer</em>)—the direct accusation is devastating: <stron...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(15) **Hear now, Hananiah . . .**—The narrative leaves the time and place of the interview uncertain, but suggests an interval of some days between it and the scene in the Temple court just narrated. In the strength of the “word of the Lord” which had come to him, the prophet can now tell his rival that he is a pretender, claiming the gift of prophecy for his own purposes and that of his party. Th...
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Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD. rebellion: Heb. revolt

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will cast thee from off the face of the earth: this year thou shalt die, because thou hast taught rebellion against the LORD</strong> (לָכֵן כֹּה־אָמַר יְהוָה הִנְנִי מְשַׁלֵּחֲךָ מֵעַל פְּנֵי הָאֲדָמָה הַשָּׁנָה אַתָּה מֵת כִּי־סָרָה דִבַּרְתָּ אֶל־יְהוָה, <em>lakhen koh-amar YHWH hin'ni m'shalechakha me'al p'nei ha'adamah hasshanah attah met ki-sa...
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Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(16) **I will cast thee . . .**—Literally, *I send thee. *The verb is the same as in the preceding verse, and is repeated with an emphatic irony. **This year thou shalt die . . .**—The punishment is announced, with time given for repentance. In part, perhaps, the threat may have tended to work out its own fulfilment through the gnawing consciousness of shame and confusion in the detection of the f...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 63 Is 63:1-19. Messiah Coming as the Avenger, in Answer to His People's Prayers. Messiah, approaching Jerusalem after having avenged His people on His and their enemies, is represented under imagery taken from the destruction of "Edom," the type of the last and most bitter foes of God and His people (see Is 34:5, &amp;c.). **1. Who--**the question of the prophet in prophetic vision. ...
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So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month.

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KJV Study Commentary

<strong>So Hananiah the prophet died the same year in the seventh month</strong> (וַיָּמָת חֲנַנְיָה הַנָּבִיא בַּשָּׁנָה הַהִיא בַּחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי, <em>vayyamat chananyah hannavi basshanah hahi bachodesh hashvi'i</em>)—the terse, factual reporting emphasizes fulfillment. Given in the fifth month (28:1), Hananiah died in the seventh month—approximately two months later. The verb מוּת (<em>mut<...
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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

2. The prophet asks why His garments are "dyed" and "red." **winefat--**rather, the "wine-press," wherein the grapes were trodden with the feet; the juice would stain the garment of him who trod them (Re 14:19, 20; 19:15). The image was appropriate, as the country round Bozrah abounded in grapes. This final blow inflicted by Messiah and His armies (Re 19:13-15) shall decide His claim to the king...
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